Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 130

Adopting a Little Pet

Nan Huaixu used a stick to push the bone toward the little dog and kept speaking to it in English: “Thank you, I’m not hungry. Go ahead and eat.”

The little dog batted the bone with its paw and tilted its head up at her, as if asking: You’re really not hungry? Then I’ll eat it~

            

Nan Huaixu nudged the bone a little closer. “Go on, eat.”

The little dog happily snatched up the bone, its tail wagging like a propeller. Woof woof!

In the end, the remains of the camellia chicken were fed to the little dog.

            

“Once you’re full, you should go. We don’t have much food ourselves, and we can’t give you any more,” Nan Huaixu told it.

She didn’t expect a dog to understand her words, much less some peculiar foreign wild dog.

For dinner, they used the remaining duck meat from the mini fridge to make soup. Liu Yinxi tended the fire and sighed, “Such a fine chicken, all wasted by a dog. What a pity.”

            

As she spoke, she glanced at the grassy patch about ten meters outside the shelter. The little black dog, lying there, sensed her gaze and immediately raised its head, bright eyes shining as it wagged its tail.

“…” Liu Yinxi turned to Nan Huaixu with a helpless look. “Teacher Nan, it won’t leave.”

Nan Huaixu picked off corn kernels one by one, popping them into her mouth and chewing slowly. “Let’s ignore it. With no food, it’ll leave on its own in a couple of days.”

            

“I hope so.” She just worried this dog was the shameless type.

Liu Yinxi made a couple of shooing gestures at the little dog. It flattened itself on the spot and buried its head in its paws.

To prevent the little dog from wrecking the shelter or stealing things while they slept or were out, Liu Yinxi locked all the important supplies in the Airdrop Crate and moved some others up to the second-floor loft. At night, they pulled up the ladder.

            

That night, the chirping of insects filled the air, and the croaking of frogs and calls of waterbirds by the lake echoed ceaselessly.

After washing up, Liu Yinxi pulled in the ladder and lay down on the second floor of the shelter, closing the gap that Nan Huaixu had left for the mosquito net zipper.

She had just settled beside Nan Huaixu when a faint floral scent drifted through the air. At this point, the fragrance was still very subtle—undetectable unless you leaned in close and breathed carefully.

            

Liu Yinxi twitched her nose and rolled over, turning her back to Nan Huaixu. Her period was coming again. This time she couldn’t leave Nan Huaixu alone, but sleeping together would be awkward. How could she avoid this problem?

After thinking for a moment, she decided to clean out the abandoned wooden cabin by the pond. When Nan Huaixu’s heat period arrived, she would move to the cabin’s second floor to sleep at night. Apart from sleeping, everything else would stay the same as usual.

Liu Yinxi was about to bring it up with Nan Huaixu when Nan Huaixu spoke first: “Liu Yinxi? What’s wrong?”

            

“Ah? Nothing, nothing…” Liu Yinxi turned over and saw the concern in Nan Huaixu’s eyes. She looked away, a bit unnaturally.

Nan Huaixu said softly, “I noticed you turned your back to me as soon as you came up. I thought something was on your mind.”

Liu Yinxi seized on the opening she’d been given: “I felt guilty about leaving you alone in the shelter last time. This time, I was thinking I’d move to the wooden cabin to sleep for a couple of nights. During the day, everything would be the same as usual.”

            

“You’re moving to the wooden cabin to sleep?” Nan Huaixu propped herself up, seemingly not in favor of the idea. “Why?”

Liu Yinxi scratched her forehead, brushing aside those annoying loose strands of hair. “It’s that time of the month. Having some personal space is probably for the best.”

She felt she’d been indirect but perfectly clear. Yet Nan Huaixu, who was so sharp, chose this exact moment to play dumb: “Didn’t you say I don’t smell bad?”

            

Liu Yinxi stared. “…”

Nan Huaixu: “If I don’t smell bad, why sleep separately?”

Liu Yinxi was tongue-tied. She mumbled a few syllables, then stammered: “Because… it’s… well… it’s just not a good idea.”

            

It was precisely because the scent was too good that they needed to sleep separately. An omega in heat and an alpha in rut sharing the same mosquito net, marinating in each other’s pheromones all night—what exactly was that supposed to accomplish?

Nan Huaixu studied her face for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed out loud. “I’m afraid of the dark. I want you here at night. What are you so nervous about?”

Liu Yinxi thought her laugh was beautiful, but her heart leaped into her throat. “Oh, really?”

            

Nan Huaixu lay back down. “Maybe I misread things.”

Liu Yinxi blinked, not knowing what to say, and adjusted her position to sleep.

Night, like flowing water, spilled across both their faces.

            

The chirp of insects and croak of frogs made the lakeside night feel especially tranquil.

The cramped little loft fell quiet for a while before Nan Huaixu’s voice came again: “This morning, I waited by the lake until Luoling came and gave her the fish in person.”

Liu Yinxi’s drowsiness vanished. “Hmm?”

            

Why was Teacher Nan suddenly bringing this up? Had she done something wrong again, or had Luoling caused more trouble…

Nan Huaixu adjusted the jacket draped over her, the faint sound of fabric rustling. “She said she kept hovering around you because gathering supplies was safer with you. I told her to be a proper ex—the silent, dead-and-gone kind.”

Liu Yinxi’s eyes grew thoughtful. “Mmm…”

            

Nan Huaixu smiled. “Don’t worry. She won’t follow you around anymore.”

Either way, Nan Huaixu had done her a big favor. “Mhm, that’s great.”

Nan Huaixu’s smile deepened. “Because I’ll be the one following you.”

            

It was a joke, of course. They each had their own clearly defined tasks every day, and Nan Huaixu wouldn’t abandon her own work to tag along after Liu Yinxi.

But the words had a magic to them. They slipped into Liu Yinxi’s dreams that night.

A hundred Nan Huaixus surrounded her, all smiling—no sleeping apart allowed.

            

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Bracelet date: June 26.

When she woke, her eyes still bleary, the first thing she registered was the dampness overflowing in the air.

Liu Yinxi stretched, rubbed her cheek, and sat up to see Nan Huaixu had opened the mosquito net and was sitting by the window, gazing outside.

            

“You’re awake?”

“Is it raining?”

They spoke at the same time and looked at each other with a smile.

            

Nan Huaixu shifted aside a little, and through the wooden window, Liu Yinxi saw the forest outside, washed even greener by the rain.

No wonder she’d had so many dreams in the first half of the night and slept so well in the second half—it was raining. Liu Yinxi always slept best on rainy days.

The temperature was a bit low. Nan Huaixu pulled on her windbreaker and asked Liu Yinxi, “Are we heading out today?”

            

Liu Yinxi untied the grass rope binding her hair, let it down, combed through it with her fingers, and tied it back up. “Let’s wait and see. If the rain stops or lightens up, we’ll go out.”

Nan Huaixu reached for the ladder leaning against the wooden wall and moved it to the doorway to let it down, but suddenly stopped.

Liu Yinxi crouched and leaned over. “It’s a bit heavy. Let me.”

            

Nan Huaixu tugged her sleeve. “Look downstairs.”

“Hmm?” Liu Yinxi leaned out to look down. A little ball of black fur was sitting on the grass directly below the second-floor entrance, looking up at them and wagging its tail. Its little paws patted at some small black specks on the ground—things it seemed to have caught and brought.

Liu Yinxi made a couple of shooing sounds at the dog in the rain. The little dog trotted off to a patch of grass farther away and lay down, its round little eyes watching her intently.

            

Liu Yinxi frowned. “So shameless. I told it we don’t have extra food, and it still won’t leave even in the rain.”

Nan Huaixu was curious about what the little dog was doing and climbed down the ladder. “Let me go check on it.”

“Teacher Nan, be careful. This is a wild dog, not like the strays in the city. It’s highly aggressive. Don’t get too close.”

            

“Mm, I know.”

The little dog didn’t dare get too close to them either. It kept glancing at the bamboo spear Liu Yinxi had left on the first floor—the one that had jabbed it. The tip was sharp.

Whimper, whine…

            

The eaves of the lean-to sheltered a patch of grass just outside the first floor.

Nan Huaixu bent down to inspect what the little black dog had brought. She frowned and swept them away, brushing them toward the dog. “Take your rat and your toad and go.”

The little black dog dropped its tail and used its paw to push the dead rat toward Nan Huaixu, then lowered its front half, stuck its rear in the air, and wagged its tail.

            

Nan Huaixu was at a loss. “Take it back. We don’t eat these things.”

The little black dog wagged its tail for a moment, tilting its head as she repeated herself a few times. Then it turned and darted into the bushes. It soon came back carrying a frangipani flower, its petals a blend of pink and white, and placed it in front of Nan Huaixu’s shoes. It backed away a little and kept wagging its tail. Woof woof!

Nan Huaixu picked up the flower, a smile blooming on her face. Even her tone when talking to the dog turned gentle. “Aww, you brought me a flower?”

            

Woof!

The little dog spun a happy circle, flopped onto the grass, and rolled around showing its white belly.

Nan Huaixu tentatively touched its belly. The little dog stayed perfectly still, its eyes fixed on her the whole time.

            

Nan Huaixu gradually grew bolder and gently stroked its belly. “Oh, our little Xiao Hei Mao¹ is a girl.”

The little dog rolled again. Woof~

Nan Huaixu held the flower up to show Liu Yinxi. “It brought me a flower! And it’s so pretty—even prettier than the one you gave me.”

            

Before Liu Yinxi could respond, Nan Huaixu turned back to play with the little dog.

Liu Yinxi, sitting on the first floor making breakfast, narrowed her eyes slightly. “…”

Liu Yinxi was an animal lover.

            

She really loved dogs.

But she wanted to say—this wild dog was the most—fawning—dog she had ever seen.

Nan Huaixu played with the little dog, chatting with it in English. “Stand. Good girl.”

            

“Sit. Good girl.”

“Shake. Good girl.”

“Are you really a wild dog? How do you know all these tricks? That’s amazing.”

            

“Don’t go outside—you’ll get rained on. Just play under the lean-to.”

“You can catch rats and toads, so you can hunt, right? Can you catch rabbits? Rabbits—the ones with the long ears.”

As she spoke, Nan Huaixu held her hands up beside her head to mimic rabbit ears. The little dog watched for a moment, then stood up and nodded. Woof!

            

Nan Huaixu was astonished. “You’re answering me, aren’t you? You can catch rabbits? Are you a little hound?”

The little dog tilted its head way up, tail raised high. Woof!

【So smart!】

            

【It must be a hound.】

【It’s still young. Once it’s full-grown it’ll definitely be able to take down rabbits.】

【Little black dog, what color sack do you prefer? (scheming grin)】

            

【It follows commands perfectly on the first try without any training. This dog was definitely trained by someone.】

【It must have run away from the indigenous tribe.】

【Huh? Then why doesn’t it go home?】

            

【I remember the dog had an injury on its hind leg. Maybe it ran into some danger in the rainforest, got hurt, and got separated from its owner?】

【That’s possible!】

【Could also be a forest ranger’s dog. The puppy was playful, ran off, and got lost.】

            

【Does anyone else remember that potato chip bag in the wooden cabin? It was a new flavor this year—someone’s definitely been there. Add in this trained dog, and I think there’s more to this place than meets the eye.】

【Is there even a question? It’s scripted. This dog was definitely arranged by the production team.】

【Absurd. Nan Huaixu’s cheats are way too overpowered.】

            

【You bet. The production team would do anything for ratings. (heh)】

【Got any proof? I can spout nonsense too. You’re just paid trolls bought by Xue Fans.】

【Wait, you’re all focused on the dog—does nobody care about our Xixi? She doesn’t look too good.】

            

【Manman, snap out of it. We get that the dog is cute, but you said there wasn’t enough food to keep one.】

【Liu Yinxi: Right, the flower I gave isn’t as good. All those radiant smiles—never once for me.】

【@Huai-Liu Shipping Scholar, hahahahaha!】

            

Nan Huaixu rubbed the little dog’s head and turned to Liu Yinxi with a smile bright as a flower. “Let’s keep it as a pet. We’ll call it Hei Mao².”

Nan Huaixu’s smile was too beautiful.

Even though it wasn’t for her.

            

Liu Yinxi knitted her brow and shook her head. “Did you forget it killed our egg-laying chicken?”

This dog absolutely could not stay.

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